Need opinion on these prongs

[katiedid]

Hi all - I love my new ring and am trying to decide if I want to ask the jeweler to do anything different with the prongs. I'm actually not sure there's anything he can do, even if I did want him to. As the photos show, the "v" prongs on the sides of the stone are part of the design. I think this would look fine with a diamond, but with a colored stone, when you look at it, the prongs are very obvious and they are distracting to me.

Anyway, I'd love to get input, suggestions, advice, etc on what to do (or not do)!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The ring is gorgeous! Obviously the prongs would disappear more with a diamond. But I don't see a thing that can be done as long as you want a sapphire in the setting. Trying to change it could really mess it up. And the design is right for that setting.

 

[katiedid]

Thank you diamondseeker! I kinda thought so. Maybe it's just a matter of getting used to it? I just don't know what to do at this point...

 

[04diamond<3]

I agree with DS....those prongs are part of the design for the whole ring (i know that's a "duh" statement), but If you changed them to anything else it'd change the look of the ring totally....I'd leave it as is...

 

[katiedid]

thanks for weighing in 04diamond. So if nothing can be done, would this bother folks enough to rethink the setting? Or am I being overly critical and picky?

 

[Acinom]

Wow! The colour of that sapphire!! And what a beautiful setting!!!

I can see what you mean but I would leave the prongs as is. It's an integral part of the design.
Ofcourse it can't hurt to talk to your jeweller if you have the feeling you cannot get used to the v-prongs.

 

[katiedid]

Thank you Acinom! I LOVE the color too! It was impossible to see exactly how the prongs would show up on the stone before it was set.

 

[04diamond<3]

thanks for weighing in 04diamond. So if nothing can be done, would this bother folks enough to rethink the setting? Or am I being overly critical and picky?

I think because it's new you'll be a bit pickier about it...but once you get used to it you'll feel better....If you really just never get over it, I guess you could check with your jeweler to see what could be done. Even if you bezeled it though, it would drastically change the look of the ring as would "smaller" more delicate prongs....I'm not a jeweler so maybe something could be done...

 

[katiedid]

Probably so. It was the first thing I noticed when I saw it. Funny enough, my husband noticed it when he first saw it too (he picked it up and saw it before me and he knew I was concerned about the prongs being done just right).

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I think you'd have to exchange the ring altogether as opposed to trying to alter it. If you do that, just be sure you choose a style that has tiny prongs. I think it is beautiful like it is, though.

 

[katiedid]

Thanks DS - I bet you're right about that.

 

[msop04]

I really like your ring, katiedid!! I wouldn't change the prongs at all!

 

[katiedid]

Well thank you msop04!!

 

[FrekeChild]

I think that the prongs, as is, are an integral part of the design, and ANY prongs will look more obvious on a darker stone. Prongs look smaller on larger dark stones, because the prong is the same/similar size on a larger stone, so the proportion is different.

I think claw prongs would look kind of strange with the setting, but also these prongs are safer for the stone in general.

 

[katiedid]

Yep you're right FrekeChild - they are not really changeable on this setting. Would you be happy with the ring as is or would you look at other settings (I want to keep the sapphire)? I just don't know if the prongs detract from the whole piece enough for me to reconsider or just see if I get used to it.

 

[katiedid]

A couple more shots - trying to show what it looks like "head on"

 

[FrekeChild]

You seemed enamored by the setting in your other thread. Is there something about it that's bothering you now that you have it on your finger? Or is it just the prongs? How do you feel about the prongs when the ring is at arms length?

I'm going to see if I can dig up some pictures of some darker stones in their settings...

(Sidenote: I love your nails! They look gorgeous!)

I don't know if you'll find these helpful or not. One picture is of my big spinel's former setting- you can see that, like your setting, the prongs are an integral part of the setting. If I had them altered in any way, it would have completely changed the look of the setting.

The other prongs are quite plain, and is to really give you an idea of the prong size difference on darker stones. The 6 prong solitaire is BGD's stock setting and it has pretty small prongs, but the stone is 2.35cts and almost 8mm. The tapered baguette/engraved setting stone is a 2.74ct blue spinel and is 8.3mm. The plain 4 prong is a very small sapphire (maybe around .5ct?) and 4mmish in a stock Stuller setting. The prongs look enormous on it, but are actually about the same size as the ones on the big 6 prong sapphire.

Judgment call. If you love the setting, can you deal with those prongs? Can you return it? If not, can you keep it and replace it with a white stone (maybe even a white sapphire)? What is your gut telling you?

 

[ericad]

The N/S prongs are ribbon style, which are more subtle than the v prongs. It may be possible to cut off the v prongs and build new ribbon prongs instead. But it won't be cheap because you'd need to also re-engrave the new prong tips. And the jeweler would need a laser in order to do it properly for a seamless look (not all jewelers have this). Though this may interfere with the flowers that are adjacent to the prongs, so not sure if it's even possible.

Beautiful ring!

 

[katiedid]

You seemed enamored by the setting in your other thread. Is there something about it that's bothering you now that you have it on your finger? Or is it just the prongs? How do you feel about the prongs when the ring is at arms length?

Thank you for this response! I love the setting. When the stone was unset, I couldn't tell what the prongs would look like on top of the stone. I didn't even realize at the time there were v prongs. I should have paid closer attention. I just knew I wanted the prongs to be "minimal" and the jeweler knew that and I think did all he could with what was there. I still love the setting - just not the prongs. Even at arms length, I see the sharp v prongs covering up the sides of the stone. It just looks off balance with the 2 different types of prongs.

I'm going to see if I can dig up some pictures of some darker stones in their settings...

(Sidenote: I love your nails! They look gorgeous!)

Thank you! Gel polish - keeps them from breaking and lasts forever!

I don't know if you'll find these helpful or not. One picture is of my big spinel's former setting- you can see that, like your setting, the prongs are an integral part of the setting. If I had them altered in any way, it would have completely changed the look of the setting.

The other prongs are quite plain, and is to really give you an idea of the prong size difference on darker stones. The 6 prong solitaire is BGD's stock setting and it has pretty small prongs, but the stone is 2.35cts and almost 8mm. The tapered baguette/engraved setting stone is a 2.74ct blue spinel and is 8.3mm. The plain 4 prong is a very small sapphire (maybe around .5ct?) and 4mmish in a stock Stuller setting. The prongs look enormous on it, but are actually about the same size as the ones on the big 6 prong sapphire.

Judgment call. If you love the setting, can you deal with those prongs? Can you return it? If not, can you keep it and replace it with a white stone (maybe even a white sapphire)? What is your gut telling you?

I think I'm gonna have to live with the prongs or ditch the setting. I think they'd exchange the setting for me - not sure as I haven't asked yet. My gut is telling me it's not 100% perfect to my eye. But I'm trying to give it some time. I don't want to look down and not like those prongs every time I look at my ring. I spent too much money on it to not be thrilled with it. I'm gonna call them tomorrow and see what they suggest. I'm sure they'll think I'm being a total pain in the ass. Oh well...

 

[katiedid]

The N/S prongs are ribbon style, which are more subtle than the v prongs. It may be possible to cut off the v prongs and build new ribbon prongs instead. But it won't be cheap because you'd need to also re-engrave the new prong tips. And the jeweler would need a laser in order to do it properly for a seamless look (not all jewelers have this). Though this may interfere with the flowers that are adjacent to the prongs, so not sure if it's even possible.

Beautiful ring!

Thank you erica!I think you're right about redoing the prongs being a major deal. I'll see what they say tomorrow when I call them.

 

[FrekeChild]

Hah! I like to think that my jeweler finds me more "interesting" than his other patrons.

LOL.

 

[Acinom]

Good luck! Hope your jeweller comes up with a good solution. You are right: for this amount of money you should be thrilled about it!!!

The ring itself is really gorgeous but it's important that it's 'really you'.

 

[katiedid]

Thanks all. After a good cry about this last night, i plan to call them today.

 

[yennyfire]

thanks for weighing in 04diamond. So if nothing can be done, would this bother folks enough to rethink the setting? Or am I being overly critical and picky?

Only you can decide if it will bother you enough to rethink the setting. Personally, I think that both the setting and the stone are gorgeous and I wouldn't start messing with it.

 

[katiedid]

Yennyfire, that's true. It's a matter of what I can live with. Love the stone, love the setting, am fine with the ribbon prongs, do NOT like the v prongs. Those prongs are what I see every time I look at it. Maybe it's because I am a very "symetrically visual" person and seeing those 2 types on top of the same smallish stone is throwing me. I don't want to make myself be ok with it and then be bothered by it. This isn't an every single day ring but I don't have many pieces this nice so I want it to be perfect (or close).

My plan is to call and talk to them this morning, go into the store (hopefully) at lunch time, and see if there's any way to change the prongs. My assumption is that there is not (without either messing up the setting or costing a lot of money). In that case, I need to see what other settings might work. If they have no setting I like, I then have to see about keeping the stone, returning the setting (if they would let me) and going with a different setting.

In my initial search, I saw one I liked at Leigh Jay Nacht: http://antiqueengagementrings.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=2360.. I spoke to them on the phone and I'm sure if I return this setting, I can send my stone to them to set. It's in my price range (I would end up spending a couple hundred dollars more to go this route). So that is my plan for now. I just feel deflated and frustrated but I don't want to make the wrong decision.

 

[FrekeChild]

HUGS!!!

Let us know what they say. No matter what, it's a beautiful ring. Would it make you feel better if the other prongs were V prongs? Or if the V prongs were ribbon prongs?

That other setting you posted is really beautiful too...

 

[katiedid]

HUGS!!!

Let us know what they say. No matter what, it's a beautiful ring. Would it make you feel better if the other prongs were V prongs? Or if the V prongs were ribbon prongs?

That other setting you posted is really beautiful too...

Thank you FrekeChild! If I hadn't had PS to come to yesterday to vent, I would have really been a mess! And I have an update!

Went to the jeweler today. They were amazing and everyone there agreed 100% with me. The prongs were distracting, the setting was kindof overpowering the stone, it just wasn't right. Also, there was really nothing you could do to the prongs without messing up the setting. The jeweler said he could probably do all v prongs, but I said I didn't think that would work and I didn't like those prongs anyway. My sales person even said she almost always loves everything that goes out of there and she didn't love how this turned out, but she didn't want to tell me that, not knowing what I would think when I got it. We all agreed that it was impossible to tell what the dark stone would have looked like in that setting until it was set. And we agreed that the setting made the stone look smaller once set. It made me feel so much better to have them say the things I was thinking.

So I found a similar setting - it still has the details I wanted - some diamonds, milgrain, engraving, filigree - but it is a smaller setting, built to hold a round stone with 6 prongs that are small and are all the same type. The bench jeweler came out and looked at several settings with us and said this one should work well and will make the stone more prominent. The roundness of the stone should show nicely with the six prongs and the hexagon type of base that the prongs sit on. The new setting is 18kt white gold with .12ctw diamonds.

So I'll shut up now and post some pics of the new setting. I leave tomorrow for a week of vacation and will pick it up on my way back home the following Saturday. For all who have followed along and commented - thank you!!!

 

[Laila619]

Ooh, I love the new setting, it's beautiful!

 

[katiedid]

Thank you Laila!!!

 

[MissGotRocks]

I think this setting is going to be SO much better for your stone! I didn't want to say anything negative about the other until you had a chance to discuss it with the jeweler but my main thought was that the setting overpowered the stone. So glad they saw that too and offered another option. I think you will be much happier with this new setting and I just love happy endings!

Enjoy your vacation and be sure to take lots of new pics for us!!